Frequently Asked Education Questions
General Frequently Asked Questions
North Carolina General Statue 18B-1006.1 was passed by the General Assembly in 2005 and requires all businesses that hold on premises malt beverage permits, on premises unfortified wine permits, on premise fortified wine permits or mixed beverage permits to separate, store and provide for the collection of all recyclable beverage containers for all beverages sold for consumption on the premises. If customer is consuming a beverage in a recyclable container on the property of the business, that container must be collected and recycled.
All beverage containers made out of material that can be recycled, such as glass bottles and containers, plastic bottles and containers and aluminum cans. This includes all containers, even if the container did not originally hold an alcoholic beverage (plastic water bottles and soda cans). Containers sold for individual consumption (beer bottles) and larger containers that individual drinks are poured from (wine bottles and spirituous liquor bottles) must be collected and recycled.
You should find a recycling service that will pick up and take the required materials to be recycled. Then you should make arrangements for handling the recyclable materials at your business. Indoor and outdoor containers (bins, carts, cans and dumpsters) will be necessary so that materials can be separated and picked up by your recycling service
Contact your current trash pickup/service provider to see if recycling services are available through it or you can contact a private company and arrange for pickup
A one year exemption can be granted by the ABC Commission, if recycling services are not available in your area. An ‘Exemption Request Form’ can be obtained from the Commission by calling (919) 779-0700.
Yes. You must specify how your business will recycle when you complete the Recycling Compliance Form. All recycling forms are available online under the Permitting Division.
Yes. NCGS 18B-304 states, “It is against the law to sell or possess any alcoholic beverage for sale, without first getting the appropriate ABC permit such as a Special One-Time or Limited Special Occasion Permit.”
Yes. NCGS. 18B 1006 (h), states, “A retail permittee may purchase malt beverage, unfortified wine, or fortified wine only from a wholesaler who maintains a place of business in this State and has the proper permit.
You should contact your local ABC Store to notify them of the problem – at that time (depending on where you are located within the state), an ABC Officer or ALE Officer will look at the records of the ABC Store, and then come to your business to replace the tax stamp pending all records are correct regarding spirituous liquor bottle in question.
Turn it in to your local Alcohol Law Enforcement Agency, local ABC Officer, or your local police or sheriff department; NCGS 18B-129 allows employees to confiscate fake or altered ID’s for the purpose of turning them over to law enforcement.
Yes. NCGS 18B-904 (b) Posting Permit states that each ABC permit that is held by an establishment shall be posted in a prominent place on the premises.
It depends on the local ordinance. NCGS 18B-300., states, “Purchase, possession and consumption of malt beverages and unfortified wine. (a)Generally – Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the purchase, consumption, and possession of malt beverages and unfortified wine by individuals 21 years old and older for their own use is permitted without restriction. (c)Local Ordinance – A city or county may by ordinance: (1) Regulate or prohibit the consumption of malt beverages and unfortified wine on the public streets in that city or county by persons who are not occupants of motor vehicles and on property owned, occupied, or controlled by that city or county; (2) Regulate or prohibit the possession of open containers of malt beverages and unfortified wine on public streets in that city or county by persons who are not occupants of motor vehicles and on property owned, occupied, or controlled by that city or county; and (3) Regulate or prohibit the possession of malt beverages and unfortified wine on public streets, alleys, or parking lots which are temporarily closed to regular traffic for special events. For the purposes of this subsection, an open container means a container whose seal has been broken or a container other than the manufacturer's unopened original container. As provided by G.S. 18B-102(a), possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages is unlawful except as authorized by the ABC law.”
Advertising Frequently Asked Questions
No.
- Rule 2S.1008(b)(1)(c) – Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow price advertising or additional signs advertising malt beverages and wine on the outside of premises holding a retail permit.
- Rule 2S.1008(b)(2) Billboards – Retail permittees shall not advertise malt beverages or wine products or the availability of alcoholic beverages by means of an a billboard or outdoor sign except as provided in this section must be attached to the building on the licensed premises and meet Rule 2S.1008(b)(1)(a) and (b)(1)(b) guidelines
No.
- Rule 2S-1008(a)(7) T-shirts – A retailer’s employees shall not wear alcoholic beverage brand identified t-shirts while working on the retailer’s licensed premises
No.
- Rule 2S-1008(a)(3) Menu and Beverage Lists – Retail on-premise malt beverage and wine permittees may place on the menu and beverage lists the brand names and prices of malt beverages and wine products offered for sale in the establishment. Menus and beverages lists may be supplied by an industry member provided the menu or beverage list is not printed with the retailer’s food menu.
- Rule 2S.1001(9) Point-of-Sale means advertising that is located inside and on the premises where the product is displayed or sold. Pointof-Sale materials do not include consumer or retailer specialty items or novelties.
- Rule 2T.0702(2) Point-of-Sale advertising shall mean advertising material such as signs, posters, banners and decoration that bears conspicuous and substantial product advertising matter, that has no secondary value to the retailer, and that is designed and intended to be used inside a retailer’s licensed premises where alcoholic beverage products are displayed and sold.
- Rule 2S.1008(a)(5) Retail malt beverage and wine permittees may arrange a reasonable number of malt beverage or wine products in a window display.
- Rule 2S.1010(a)(6) A mixed beverage permittee shall not place liquor containers in a window display.
Rule 2T.0713(a)(2) - The following things of value shall not be given, loaned or rented by any industry member to a retailer, but may be sold to the retailer at a price paid for the item by the first industry member who acquires them (2) glassware and cups – so long as the items have not been customized for a retailer with the retailer’s name or logo.
Yes.
- Rule 2T.0712(9) – Bar Spending – An industry member may visit the premises of an on-premise retail account for the purpose of promoting its brand so long as: (a) the visit is unannounced and not advertised; and (b) a patron that refuses the industry member’s offer to consume a product is offered a comparable beverage of his choice, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic
Rule 2S.1008(d) – Media Advertising – A retail malt beverage, wine or mixed beverage permittee may advertise price and brand of malt beverage and wine products offered for sale by means of circular, newspaper, magazine, radio, television and internet.
Yes.
- Rule 2T. 0715(b) A industry member may provide a retailer point-of-sale advertising materials promoting a sweepstakes or contest. An industry member shall not offer or promote any sweepstakes or contest in conjunction with any retailer as a co-sponsor or as the provider of any prize. No prizes may be drawn or awarded on the premises of any retailer.
No.
- Rule 2T.0711(b) – The following services shall not be furnished, given, provided or made available to a retail permittee by an industry member, even if the retailer is charged or billed for the services for their market value (8)(A) Making refrigerated vehicles available to the retailer
Happy Hour Frequently Asked Questions
No. North Carolina ABC permitted establishments may offer happy hour food specials only. ABC Rule 2S.0232 (b) states, “An on‐premise permittee or his agent shall not give away a drink or sell the drink for any period of time less than one full business day.”
No. ABC Rule 2S.0232 (b) further states, “Free or reduced drinks under this provision shall be offered to all customers, not just a segment of the population.”
No. ABC Rule 2S.0232 (3) states, “an on‐premise permittee or his agent shall not sell more than one drink to a patron for his own consumption or deliver more than one drink at one time to a patron for his consumption. This rule does not however prohibit the sale of pitchers of alcoholic beverages to two or more patrons. This rule also does not prohibit serving a single carafe or bottle of wine to a single patron.” NOTE: This rule does not prohibit a person from purchasing a round of drinks for multiple persons.
No. Buckets of beer are treated the same as a pitcher of beer and can only be sold to more than one person.
Yes. For the purpose of this rule, a boilermaker is considered one drink and may be sold to a single patron.
Any drink considered a pitcher is more than one drink and must be sold to more than a single patron.
ABC Rule 2S.232 (c), states, “a ‘drink’ contains the amount of alcoholic beverages usually and customarily served to a single patron as a single serving by the permittee.”
Yes. ABC Rule 2S.232 (d) (e) states, “an on‐premise permittee may include alcoholic beverages in a package offering that includes a meal or entertainment if the offered special is made in conjunction with the following holidays: New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day. The offer of a meal and alcoholic beverage at a single total price is not a violation of this Section so long as the total price reflects the actual price of the alcoholic beverages and not a reduced price.”
No. ABC Rule 2S.232 (a) (2), states, “an on‐premise permittee or his agent shall not establish a single price based upon the required purchase of more than one drink.”
Yes. A double is considered one drink and can be sold to a single person.
No. ABC Rule 2S‐1006 (a), states, “cents‐off coupons or coupons offering free alcoholic beverages shall not be used as a method for advertising.”
No. ABC Rule 2S.1006 (f), states, “no on‐premise permittee or his agent shall advertise any drink promotion prohibited by Rule 2S.0232. This paragraph includes a ban on all advertisements of “2 for 1,”, “buy 1 get 1 free,” buy 1 get another for a (nickel, penny, etc.), and any other similar statement indicating that a patron must buy more than one drink.”
No. ABC Rule 2S.1008 (a), (b) requires all exterior advertising for alcohol to be on “a single nonmechanical sign,” attached to the building on the licensed premises. Additional requirements apply.
No. ABC Rule 2S.1006 (e), states, “except as otherwise provided in these Rules, no industry member of retailer shall promote an alcoholic beverage product by giving prizes, premiums or merchandise to individuals for which any purchase of alcoholic beverages is required based on the return of empty containers unless all containers of like products are accepted and considered on an equal basis with the product sold by the permittee.”
Private Clubs Frequently Asked Questions
North Carolina General Statue 18B-1006.1 was passed by the General Assembly in 2005 and requires all businesses that hold on premises malt beverage permits, on premises unfortified wine permits, on premise fortified wine permits or mixed beverage permits to separate, store and provide for the collection of all recyclable beverage containers for all beverages sold for consumption on the premises. If customer is consuming a beverage in a recyclable container on the property of the business, that container must be collected and recycled.
All beverage containers made out of material that can be recycled, such as glass bottles and containers, plastic bottles and containers and aluminum cans. This includes all containers, even if the container did not originally hold an alcoholic beverage (plastic water bottles and soda cans). Containers sold for individual consumption (beer bottles) and larger containers that individual drinks are poured from (wine bottles and spirituous liquor bottles) must be collected and recycled.
You should find a recycling service that will pick up and take the required materials to be recycled. Then you should make arrangements for handling the recyclable materials at your business. Indoor and outdoor containers (bins, carts, cans and dumpsters) will be necessary so that materials can be separated and picked up by your recycling service
Contact your current trash pickup/service provider to see if recycling services are available through it or you can contact a private company and arrange for pickup
A one year exemption can be granted by the ABC Commission, if recycling services are not available in your area. An ‘Exemption Request Form’ can be obtained from the Commission by calling (919) 779-0700.
Yes. You must specify how your business will recycle when you complete the Recycling Compliance Form. All recycling forms are available online under the Permitting Division.
Recycling Frequently Asked Questions
North Carolina General Statue 18B-1006.1 was passed by the General Assembly in 2005 and requires all businesses that hold on premises malt beverage permits, on premises unfortified wine permits, on premise fortified wine permits or mixed beverage permits to separate, store and provide for the collection of all recyclable beverage containers for all beverages sold for consumption on the premises. If customer is consuming a beverage in a recyclable container on the property of the business, that container must be collected and recycled.
All beverage containers made out of material that can be recycled, such as glass bottles and containers, plastic bottles and containers and aluminum cans. This includes all containers, even if the container did not originally hold an alcoholic beverage (plastic water bottles and soda cans). Containers sold for individual consumption (beer bottles) and larger containers that individual drinks are poured from (wine bottles and spirituous liquor bottles) must be collected and recycled.
You should find a recycling service that will pick up and take the required materials to be recycled. Then you should make arrangements for handling the recyclable materials at your business. Indoor and outdoor containers (bins, carts, cans and dumpsters) will be necessary so that materials can be separated and picked up by your recycling service
Contact your current trash pickup/service provider to see if recycling services are available through it or you can contact a private company and arrange for pickup
A one year exemption can be granted by the ABC Commission, if recycling services are not available in your area. An ‘Exemption Request Form’ can be obtained from the Commission by calling (919) 779-0700.
Yes. You must specify how your business will recycle when you complete the Recycling Compliance Form. All recycling forms are available online under the Permitting Division.